Destiny Within A Grasp
by Svelte Rose
Summary: Set in Ancient Egypt during the 18th dynasty, a Grecian noblewoman was called to travel across the Ionian by the request of the Pharaoh's priests. Her palms bore the power to heal; within her grasp...their destiny rested. Pro-Tea(Anzu)
1. Prologue

**Title**: Destiny Within A Grasp

**Part**: Prologue

**Author**: Svelte Rose

**Written**: March 29th, 2004

**Comments**: Some of YGO's history has been changed around a bit to suit this story's purpose so if you sense anything amiss…point them out and I'll try explaining them to you without revealing this story. ^_^ As with all of my other fanfics (past, present and future), it is pro-Anzu/Tea so don't read if you dislike her character. Heck, I don't know why you would. It should be a light read and the pace is definitely more spread out than my other fic so I hope you enjoy. Please review, it keeps an author happy. XD Oh yeah…I don't own these guys.

            Across the Nile River, a slight breeze flew by unsettling the peaceful surface of the water. About a hundred yards down the river another entity caused another set of ripples which in turn, fought against the ripples caused by the slight breeze only for both to compromise somewhere in the middle.

            This entity was a flat-deck ship of some sort designed especially for luxury and show rather than more practical uses. Its only useful feature was the canopy that blocked the overbearing rays of the sun from touching three people who occupied the deck. Two of them whom skins were already tanned by the sun could handle the powerful rays upon their back; it was the third occupant, a moderately fair-skinned lady where they believed the sun would prove too much. 

            Twirling her parasol, she smiled as she looked down into the waters, admiring the aqua-blue color. Taking off a crisp white glove, she ran her bare fingers along the side; enjoying the cool touch.

            "My lady, I would not do that if I were you," One of her companions warned in Arabic; arm muscles flexing with every stroke.

            She immediately snatched her hand back up and smiled thankfully to the man. Tucking her hand back into the white glove, she thanked the gods that unlike the first three months of voyage on a crowded ship, this was an improvement she very much welcomed. 

            Weariness loomed over her like a shadow but she refused to allow it affect her much if any. Plus, as luxurious as her current accommodations were, it was much too bright out for her to take the nap she wished for. Added to that, they were only a few minutes from their destination.

            The brunette could tell by the amount of guards that were stationed along the bank. They were scattered few and far when she first loaded onto this boat but now, she didn't even need to search for them. With their right hands resting lightly on their scimitars and their left hands clutching their bow, their trained eyes followed the single boat as it neared a small dock of some sort. Upon the deck stood about ten to fifteen armed soldiers and one familiar man whom she waved enthusiastically to.

            A rope was thrown to one of the soldiers on the small deck. Gently, they steered the boat slowly towards the small deck. Two more arrived with a large ramp of some sort and propped it against the boat. Offering their hands to the brunette lady, they bowed respectfully as she stepped off, the layers of her yellow dress swaying with each step.

            The brunette was slightly surprised when her parasol was taken from her hands but she understood when the familiar shadow fell over her. Accepting the offered hands, she walked off the boat onto the ramp and then onto the small deck. 

            "Welcome back Lady Teana," The familiar man finally greeted as he bowed to her figure.

            "Priest Mahaad," A smile blossomed upon her features as she lifted a hand to his face tenderly. "Terribly sorry for taking so long,"

~*~*~*~

            Despite her long years away from Egypt, she had never forgotten the skill of riding a camel. Unfortunately, her body was not used to the exertions needed to handle the rough ride to the palace. When they finally reached their desired destination, Tea barely held her yell of relief as she was helped off the camel back. Closing her eyes for a moment, she concentrated and the soreness of her bottom disappeared twice as fast as it had taken for them to appear.

            "All these years and nothing has changed," The brunette murmured quietly to herself. 

            Mahaad stepped up next to her offering his elbow, "Physical appearances aren't everything,"

            Nodding slightly in understanding, she took his arm and was quickly led inside.

~*~*~*~

            Walking through several corridors, up many flight of stairs and down many hallways, the Lady Teana felt as though she would never reach her desired destinations. About twenty or thirty guards followed her closely, still on guard.

            Finally, she and the Priest Mahaad stopped in front of two large white double-doors. With a slight command, the doors slid open and greeting the brunette's sight were three more familiar individuals.

            "Lady Teana," They spoke in unison; their bodies subconsciously guarding the bed which stood in the center of the three. 

            "Priestess Isis, Priest Karim, Priest Shadah," She acknowledged respectfully, "…how is he?" Unlatching her arm from Mahaad's elbow, she quickly took her white gloves off and approached the large bed.

            The only other female among that group, the Priestess Isis grimly answered for the rest of them, "There is a disease which has taken a hold of his body and we have tried all we can to rid the evil which has taken a hold of his mind. There seems to be some sort of barrier around his soul room of which we cannot reach. When we do try, it seems to have a worst effect upon his body, with each attempt. That is why we contacted you when we did. His conditioned was maintained as well as possible, until you reached us,"

            "And I thought you only wanted to see me," She joked slightly, her blue eyes twinkling.

            Priest Karim smiled at her, "Do not believe otherwise that that is one of the main reasons we have called you back,"

            Sitting down on the bed, Tea looked fondly upon the matured face of a boy she used to play with many years ago. Running a slender finger along his feverish brow, it seemed to have calmed some of the set agitation which seemed permanently set into an otherwise handsome face. "Priest Shadah, if memory serves me correctly, you are the only one who can reach his soul room in any other circumstances, am I right?"

            He nodded, "You are correct Lady Teana,"

            "Alright," She replied before moving to shift the sheets away from his chest. Her hands glowed slightly as she set the covers down and the glow only grew in intensity as she neared his chest. "Lay your hands upon me Priest Shadah,"

            Only hesitating for a moment, the Priest Shadah quickly understood what the brunette planned to attempt. Laying his fingers upon her forehead, they glowed brightly as she slowly pressed her palms against the feverish chest.

            In a split second, the large room was encompassed in a flash of bright light.

~*~*~*~

            Jerking only a little in his seat, the aging man growled and pounded his fist upon the seat, "I was so close…I don't understand how they could've broken my hold," Trying once more, he was only met with an unfamiliar surge of power. Concentrating on the unfamiliar power, he could sense a bit of the Ankh's power entwined within the energy threads before he was once more, pushed out of the Pharoah's mind.

            "Who the hell could that be?"

            "It's her," Another voice joined the aging man's musings. Twirling a small, golden rod in his hand, the tall figure stepped out of the shadows, stared at the aging man and smirked, "She has finally come back,"

_End Prologue…_

**End Notes**: I wanted this part to be longer but then I realized…it was the freaking prologue. Prologues aren't supposed to be long and since there's so much more to come, I didn't want to reveal it all within the first part.

Romance will come in later chapters; I haven't figured out who will be paired with who though. @_@

As I said before, some of YGO's history in Ancient Egypt has been changed a bit to suit this story's purpose. It's set right after the Priest Set had a misunderstanding with the Pharoah Atem when Kisara died. They split their ways with Akunadin and Set on one side, the rest on the other side. If you have questions, I'm more than happy to answer them. ^_^ Comments appreciated – in fact I thrive upon them! ::big grin:: Plus, being that it's my first long YGO fanfic, I need people to point out inconsistencies when they see them. Ah yes…you've heard it before but do know that finding the little "Fanfiction Alert" in our mailboxes makes us authors very, very motivated to write more. XD


	2. Chapter One

**Title**: Destiny Within A Grasp

**Part**: Chapter One

**Author**: Svelte Rose

**Written**: April 8th, 2004

**Comments**: Woohoo! The next installment of my first long YGO fanfic. ^_^ I'm excited! I've been jotting down ideas whenever I could so that I would have a consistent update schedule for this ficcie. Hell, if I don't put myself on a schedule, I'll never go through with it. @_@ Thanks for all the reviews to my first part – it made me feel all warm and fluffy inside…here's a virtual brownie as my token of appreciation – not that it's really worth much. ^_^;; But it's the thought that's behind it…that's what counts. XD Anyways…enjoy reading this next part! (I don't own YGO or it's characters…I do own this plotline so nyeh. ::blows raspberry::)

            Taking a small tentative sip from the delicate porcelain cup, the Grecian brunette cleared her throat before asking, "So what's been going on?"

            The Priestess Isis sighed heavily as if a great burden released from her shoulders, "Much has happened since you received our message," she began.

            Chuckling as if serving a memorable event, Tea took another sip of her tea, "Yes, I remember Karim's deep voice appearing in my head all of the sudden…" straightening up and furrowing her eyebrow's, her voice becoming an octave lower, "'Please come to us Lady Teana, we require your assistance!'" Her old features returning and her posture relaxed once more, the brunette giggled before continuing, "I almost took my partner's foot off on the dance floor,"

            The raven-hair Egyptian only smiled slightly, "We're happy you were able to come,"

            Tea nodded gratefully, "I'm happy you invited me, I thought you guys had forgotten about me when my father came and took me away," Waving her hand as if it were of no importance, the brunette set her teacup down and looked at the Egyptian priestess straight into her purple eyes, "Please tell me, I'm absolutely curious and worried as to what the major event was,"

            Taking off the golden Torque which lay upon her head, Isis ran her finger across the intricate designs, "The seven millennium items of which we carry has been our joy and also our misfortune. For years, ever since these items were created, we knew that Priest Akunadin's sanity was slowly slipping away from him. Perhaps it was due to the power with which his Millenium eye provided him or maybe it was just his own psyche, his hunger for power was becoming more noticeable." Resetting the Torque back upon her forehead, the priestess then poured herself another cup of tea, "We did not mention it; we did not think there was anything to fear."  
            Tea nodded slowly, her eyes focused on the Egyptian priestess, her curiosity growing with fervor by each second.

            "About four months ago, a strange girl entered one of our villages. We had no knowledge of who she was and where she came from. The villagers were frightened to her appearance already, due to all the political unrest they'd been experiencing so they attacked her for absolutely no reason,"

            The Grecian brunette was slowly beginning to understand; she leaned forward slightly.

            "Priest Set saved her and brought her back. In her, Shadah could all sense a very powerful _ka_, that of the Blue Eyes White Dragon. We knew that Priest Akunadin was drawn to that power and we knew Priest Set was drawn to it as well. Her essence was studied to see how we could extract the Blue Eyes White Dragon and send it to the Shadow Realm,"

            Tea laid a lightly glowing palm upon Isis' hand and the Priestess immediately felt a small warmth flow through her body.

            "It would have killed her were we to have done so," She stated blatantly. "None of us desired it except for Akunadin. With _ka_, as long as it is kept in the hostess's body, there is no reason to fear it. So without a warning, Akunadin struck Kisara, took the _ka_ of the Blue Eyes White Dragon from her, leaving Kisara's physical shell with Priest Set. We don't know the relationship of which surrounded him and Kisara but he seemed almost grief-stricken which allowed Akunadin's easy access into his mind."

            Tea narrowed her eyebrows at Isis, "But no one can beat Priest Set's power when it comes to his telepathy,"

            The priestess shrugged, "We know that, we think he also may have welcomed it," Shaking her head sadly, Isis continued on, "Priest Set challenged the Pharaoh Atem to a duel,"

            "Who won?" The brunette asked obviously.

            "Neither. Both lost their life points at the same time," Pounding her fist upon the table lightly, Isis growled under her breath, "After the duel, Akunadin struck the Pharaoh from the side with the Millenium Eye which accounts for the condition in which you met him,"

            Tapping her cheek with her long manicured fingernails, Tea pursed her lips, "But if Akunadin was the one that killed Kisara, why does Set hold such a grudge against Yuugi?"

            Confused for only a little bit, the Priestess quickly remembered that it was the Grecian noblewoman's pet name for Atem, "We think he may be using Akunadin as a stepping stone or in that moment when his mental barriers were down, Akunadin may have gotten to him. We're just as confused as you are right now. I do not know why Set blames Atem and no new possibilities have been presented to me." 

            A slight movement to their right caused both women to shift in their position and face the doorway.

            "Excuse me, the Pharaoh requests her lady's presence in his chambers," The soldier stated as he bowed.

            Tea stood up slowly with Isis following shortly after, "Please tell him I will be right there,"

            Bowing once more, the soldier took a step back and closed his door.

            "Wait one moment Isis," Tea requested of the Priestess.

            "Yes?" She asked, her eyes brimming with curiosity.

            Hesitating slightly, Tea shook her head slowly, "Nevermind, I will speak to you later,"

            Isis smiled in understanding, "Certainly,"

~*~*~*~

            Gently pushing the large ornate doors open, Tea's eyes took a moment to adjust the darkness as they wandered the room before settling on the large bed. Removing her sandals, she walked slowly towards the bed, plucking her gloves off slowly. After removing her gloves, a light glow effused from her hands spilling out into the dark room, stirring the figure on the bed.

            Suddenly, violet eyes met blue as a hand shot out and grabbed one of her glowing hands. "Tea?"

            Smiling gently, she sat down on the bed and laid her cool palm against his forehead, aware of the violet eyes which followed her every move. As an expression of calm settled over his handsome features, she put her gloves back on.

            "Thank you," Came the deep voice as he sat up and pushed the covers back.

            "No problem," was the simple answer as she smoothed the sheets.

            He shrugged, sitting up, "I've been better,"

            She chuckled, "I'm sure you have. It isn't everyday for someone to pick your brain apart after they've poisoned you," Tucking a brown curl behind her head, Tea sighed, her shoulders sagging, "What's going to happen to Seto?"

            "He's not Seto anymore Lady Teana, he's Priest Set of the Millenium Rod," The tri-colored hair pharaoh commented, a serious-look upon his face. "A lot of things have changed since you left -,"

            "I'm not oblivious to that," She mumbled cutting in.

            The pharaoh kept on going as if he never heard, "He's a bitter man now hell-bent on revenge. We are able to use our millennium items to keep him and Priest Akunadin from attacking the people but we cannot do anything about those who join their side willingly."

            "Yuugi -," She began, a frown marring her facial features. Two slender fingers pressed up against her lips shushing any further comments.

            He smiled, albeit sadly as he removed his fingers, "You should do well to call me Pharaoh Atem from now on,"

            "Yes, of course. How could I forget," She rhetorically responded.

~*~*~*~

            A bit unsettled by her meting with her childhood friend, the Grecian chose to peruse the palace grounds; she really had nothing else to do until dinner time and the others were busy focused on their jobs. It was Mahaad who found the brunette wandering in the weaponry room, a look of fascination instilled upon her face.

            "Fascinating aren't they?" He quietly moved up next to her.

            Jerking around, Tea's hand moved right up to her heart before her body disappeared.

            Mahaad blinked several times as he stared at the empty spot where the brunette once was, "Lady Tea?"

            Reappearing once more in the same spot, Tea grimaced, "Call me Tea. Using the 'lady' prefix in front of it seems somewhat strange coming from you," She simply stated.

            The priest tucked her gloved hand in the crook of his elbow and led her deeper into the room. "You know, all of these weapons belong to Priest Set,"

            "I know, even as a child, he had a passion for swords," She added as they stopped in front a row of scythes. "Does he know how to use any of these?"

            Mahaad nodded, a reminiscent smile playing upon his lips, "He made sure he was the best at them,"

            "Same old Seto," She said only loud enough for herself to hear.

            Taking a set of scythes down from the wall, Mahaad swung them around expertly all the while continuing his tale, "The Pharaoh never liked this room. He's only practiced with the two handed sword. Otherwise, he doesn't care for weapons." Setting the scythes back upon the wall, he studied her face, "You seemed a bit bothered by your visit to the pharaoh, is there anything I could help with?"

            A moment's bit of hesitation was all Tea took before speaking, "No, nothing at all,"

            He nodded, "Well if there is…"

            "You'll be the first to know," Tea finished.

~*~*~*~

            The next day, the recovering pharaoh called for a celebration within the palace walls. Though still a bit weak, Atem refused to be tied down in his bed and budged from his spontaneous decision. "It's a well-deserved celebration," he announced to his priests and priestess. "Especially after these last couple of months,"

            That night, in her room, Tea was presented with a great number of outfits as Atem's royal guest. She had wanted to wear her own loose-fitting Grecian togas but found the Egyptian garb much suited to her tastes.

            By the time she reached the main room where the Pharaoh's special guests, officials, and the priests and priestess occupied, dancers were already on the floor performing for the occupants. Nerves tingling, her skin slowly changed to match her background. Her disappearance was only visible to those who paid attention. Since most of the guests were male, their attentions were pivoted to the dance floor.

            Shadah, Karim, and Isis sat in chairs close to the Pharaoh. Three chairs were unoccupied – the two of the three were reserved for Priest Set and Priest Akunadin. The other was the one Priest Mahaad usually occupied, but tonight, like every other night, he watched over the tomb of Atem's father, Pharaoh Akunumkanon. 

            "Lucky him," Tea muttered to herself as she weaved past the banquet table.

            Isis, having sensed Tea's particular energy when she first arrived in the room patted the empty seat next to her at the same exact moment Tea reached her.

            By that time, the Pharaoh had also taken notice and cleared his throat to catch the attention of one of his guards. The guard to the right of him signaled to the musicians in order to cease their activity. When they did, he stepped forward and in a loud booming voice, announced, "The Pharaoh Atem wishes to speak!"

            Right away, there was silence in the room as the dancers quickly cleared the floor, leaving the spotlight upon the young Pharaoh. Tea tried not to anticipate what would happen next but somehow, even without the clairvoyant powers of which Isis possessed after receiving the Millenium Torque, she could predict what was to happen next. 

Ahhh…behold the power of foresight.

            "Fellow guests and citizens," Pharaoh Atem began, "It is with great honor that I welcome you all tonight to our much deserved celebration. Over the last few months, I know many may have wondered how a Pharaoh rules his land when he could barely climb out of the bed," Motioning towards his own standing body, the Pharaoh continued on. "Now you can see that that is no problem anymore and I have my special guest, the Lady Teana Gardner, to thank for."

            With two spots of color on her cheeks, Tea stood up and slightly curtsied before sitting back down.

            "With that said, please, let the party continue," Atem finished with a flourish of his wrist. Immediately, the dancers appeared in sync and began their continuation of the dance from before.

            Isis nudged Tea and pointed up at the seated Pharaoh, "I believe he wants you up next to him,"

            Tea nodded before looking at Atem's sparkling violet eyes and stood up from her chair. Slowly making her way towards his chair, she had barely reached him before a guard burst through the palace gates.

            "My lord!" The soldier gasped out before he fell kneeling to the floor.

            The dancers quickly scattered leaving Atem a perfect view of the panicked soldier. "What is it?" His loud voice boomed across the large room.

            "It's King Akunumkanon tomb, Pharaoh Atem!" The soldier shouted out, still breathing very hard.

            Tea watched Atem's large violet eyes grow even more as the color drained out of his face.

            "What is it?"

            The soldier swallowed hard before answering, "It's been robbed!"

**Ending Note**: When I wrote this chapter, I felt all my muses had abandoned me. For the life of me, I could not get the inspiration needed to write this chapter and make it sound somewhat exciting. In case you are all wondering, no, it hasn't been decided who Tea is going to end up with. Heck, I don't know who's going to end up with at this point – I don't even know if I'm going to have her end up with someone. Most likely…yes she will because what's a story without sexual tension? Er…just kidding. ^_^;; Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.

I would like to thank the one individual who pointed out to me that there were no English nobles around at this time. I would also like to admit that that was a large and rather erroneous mistake on my part so I thank you for pointing it out to me. I could have done *without* the snippy side comment that you added towards the end however, thanks is given nonetheless. ^_^

For everyone else who reviewed, you guys kick butt! It makes me so happy to know that there are people actually reading this. I know it's boring but I promise it will pick up…if not, I have more stories in planning, Anzu/Tea-centered. Thanks again for all the reviews! It means more than I could ever inscribe in words. ^_^


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